Modem Vendors in Spat over Server Standard

A row has blown up in the 56Kbps modem market over which standard will prevail, as the main protagonists are fighting hard to entice customers, distributors and dealers to their common standard.

The latest spat centres on which of the two current standards ? X2 or K56Flex ? will offer future-proofing for customers.

Last week US Robotics launched a programme for its existing customers, offering them 33Kbps technology in the shape of upgrades to its X2 technology. The programme came only days after Brazilian company Transend said it would offer a unit running at the same speed as single channel ISDN.

The moves led to retaliation from other 56KFlex developers, including Lucent, Rockwell, Ascend and Motorola. Ascend claimed last week that its standard was capable of upgrading to 700,000 internet ports, aiding ISPs worldwide.

But two weeks ago, the battle over standards led to a public row between ISPs Demon and UUnet, each of which said it was beta testing different standards. At the time, James Gardiner, marketing director of Demon, said 56Kbps modems were not legal in the UK and Europe because of poor telephone lines.

Theresa Noonan, retail marketing manager at Motorola EMEA, said: ?We believe we?ve chosen the technology with the largest installed base. It?s the best foundation for future technology. Most ISPs will not want to be limited by one or the other.?

She implied that Motorola would announce sharp price cuts at its product launch.

3Com was the founder member of the K56flex consortium but its position is ambiguous following its bid to acquire US Robotics and leverage its X2 technology among its customers.